Tag Archives: men’s fashion

I recently collaborated with the lovely folks at hook + ALBERT to create a mini gift guide for men. Seriously, ladies, there is some great stuff on this site in terms of gifts for gents. Just a tip, hook + ALBERT socks are the best of the best and your man will love you forever and ever, amen if you buy him a pair. Also, gents check this shop out, I think any man could find something to love on hook+ALBERT.

Oh, and here is a surprise!! When you find something you like you can get 20% OFF using the code CLARABELLE from now until Jan 31st!! YAY!

Here’s a story: Today, on the subway coming from work, I saw a strapping, young, gentleman on his way home to Harlem wearing a Civil War hat. He looked exactly like this — except he was strapping and in Armani jeans (he was also black — which I found especially weird because we black folks don’t tend to dwell on the Civil War much.):

Now, you see, there are a lot of strange fashion statements in New York City. That is one of the NYC perks that make paying 75% of your salary on rent less horrible and soul-sucking. So usually, I would simply smile — a special New York smile-but-only-inside-your-head-so-you-don’t-get-trafficked-smile — and then I would forget about the black man dressed in a Robert E. Lee hat on the subway. However, this is the THIRD Civil War hat I have seen on a man in the past month.

This leads me to believe that these Civil War hats might just be becoming a bonafide early-adopter NYC trend. This means that in a few short months every man in America will be wearing Civil War hats. And, ladies, you know how men hold on to their trends (they are still sagging their pants — still). I want you to envision, thirty-five years in the future, when men are still wearing dingy old Civil War hats. I find this unsettling. I personally don’t want to see guys starting to think trends from the Civil War are cool. They aren’t.

Is the creepy Civil War vibe really what you want to give off to the ladies, men-folk? I didn’t think so.

Baseball caps it is!

Guys, please, don’t let this happen. Just wear baseball hats. Those are fine.

My dad has always been a fashion inspiration for me. From his signature loud pants to his bow ties, the man has impeccable style. So when he wrote to me with his 10 Commandments of Gentlemen’s Fashion I was thrilled to include is words of wisdom in my blog.

And now, without further adieu, a guest post from my father:

I thought I might be presumptuous enough to offer a few of my personal rules on fashion to male readers. I have long held the view that a man is not a gentleman simply because it says so on the bathroom door at Applebee’s. I offer my own “10 Commandments of Gentlemen’s Fashion” as a public service:

1. A gentleman understands that dressing well is an imperative.

2. A gentleman never buys a pair of slacks for less than $100 or a pair of jeans for more than the same.

3. A gentleman must own one pair of black and one pair of cordovan cap-toe oxford shoes.

4. A gentleman never uses the phrase “my style.” If you have to tell people what your style is, you don’t have any.